What would you cut from your personal expenditure...

[lou]

Less clothes

Not always a bad thing... depending on the person involved!

[Dr The Singh]

You are clearly well enough off to afford it then, Welcome to the squeezed middle.

We are not allowed to complain or expect the Government to spend our tax efficiently, or we are branded priveledged right wingers who have no understanding of the challenges facing the poor etc.

[/quote

I'm not poor or desperately struggling, but I find it bit bizarre that middle earners pay 40% (a higher rate of tax) already for earnings over a certain threshold isn't penalty enough. Yes, I can afford it, but i sort of feal penalised for struggling and working hard to earn my money. It doesn't take into account, the hours I do, the mortgage I pay or other expenditures. Blanket bans are generally not fair.

To be honest i'm not much better off then a couple with 3 kids on incpacity benefits and the dole, one of neighbours is, and they drive similar car, similar house, similar living standards!!!

[lou]

I'm not poor or desperately struggling, but I find it bit bizarre that middle earners pay 40% (a higher rate of tax) already for earnings over a certain threshold isn't penalty enough. Yes, I can afford it, but i sort of feal penalised for struggling and working hard to earn my money. It doesn't take into account, the hours I do, the mortgage I pay or other expenditures. Blanket bans are generally not fair.

To be honest i'm not much better off then a couple with 3 kids on incpacity benefits and the dole, one of neighbours is, and they drive similar car, similar house, similar living standards!!!

Facist!

[Dr The Singh]

Facist!

Yes, and that's why you love me!!!

[davieG]

Facist!

Please use the full address.

Fascist terrorist

Yours sincerely

Nazi!

[lou]

Please use the full address.

Fascist terrorist

Yours sincerely

Nazi!

Apologies Mein Führer:

Kind regards

Bridge racist

Yes, and that's why you love me!!!

One of the many reasons anyway....

[Jon the Hat]

So if I pull up one of the tenants on the estate then I assume, given how troubling your squeeze is, you'd happily swap circumstance?

See!! There you are, What an utterly stupid argument that is. Care to explain your reasoning as to why exactly that tenant on the estate should have any more cause to complain than I do?

Being on benefits if you are capable of work should not be easy, it should not be fun, it should not enable you to live in the house you could afford when you had a job, to have a car, to have SKY TV, to be able to afford to support your smoking or drinking habits, or to buy you lots of clothes or shoes or handbags, or afford holidays. These things are not the responsibility of the state. Benefits should give you a safe clean roof over your head for as long as you absolutely need it (not for life). It should provide you with money to eat and pay the bills. It should support you in looking for work. And no more than that. The people of this country who pay their own way have had enough of funding others to have lifestyles they cannot afford themselves.

[Dr The Singh]

Please use the full address.

Fascist terrorist

Yours sincerely

Nazi!

You would have thought they would have made exceptions for us far righters!!!!!

[davieG]

You would have thought they would have made exceptions for us far righters!!!!!

I hate being called a far righter or right wing it's like calling child molesters paedophiles or paedos it almost makes it sound acceptable I much prefer my full my proper names of Nazi or Fascist! I don't want to be accepted!

[Dr The Singh]

I hate being called a far righter or right wing it's like calling child molesters paedophiles or paedos I much prefer my full my proper names of Nazi or Fascist!

I get your message, but don't like paedos etc get free accomodation and food and benefits etc.........what a world we live in!!!!!!

[Finnegan]

But this idea of council tenants living lives of paramount luxury is a silly myth. Yes, there are those that milk it and yes there are a few with massive tellies but, for the majority, it's a myth. Most are skint with little of the luxuries others take for granted and are increasingly apathetic. Yet despite that, in my experience, they do infinitely less moaning about their hardships than most of their middle class peers.

[Houdini Logic]

I'm not poor or desperately struggling, but I find it bit bizarre that middle earners pay 40% (a higher rate of tax) already for earnings over a certain threshold isn't penalty enough. Yes, I can afford it, but i sort of feal penalised for struggling and working hard to earn my money. It doesn't take into account, the hours I do, the mortgage I pay or other expenditures. Blanket bans are generally not fair.

To be honest i'm not much better off then a couple with 3 kids on incpacity benefits and the dole, one of neighbours is, and they drive similar car, similar house, similar living standards!!!

Yes but they're disabled, have three kids and have to watch Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women all day

[lou]

I hate being called a far righter or right wing it's like calling child molesters paedophiles or paedos it almost makes it sound acceptable I much prefer my full my proper names of Nazi or Fascist! I don't want to be accepted!

Or " Daggers " ?

[Dr The Singh]

But this idea of council tenants living lives of paramount luxury is a silly myth. Yes, there are those that milk it and yes there are a few with massive tellies but, for the majority, it's a myth. Most are skint with little of the luxuries others take for granted and are increasingly apathetic. Yet despite that, in my experience, they do infinitely less moaning about their hardships than most of their middle class peers.

Please, come on Finners, wearing silk underpants from Anne Summers (the one with the zip for the cock to come out of ) is more luxury then I can afford, seriously though it's all relativeinterms of what is acceptableinterms of wealth recieved and what isn't.

I suppose it's who you know and what you see, most of my relatives on the dole etc are milking it etc and play the system to a tree! They have more gadgets, computers, etc then we do. They have all the crappy bollywood\indian channels and we don't and can afford the same food as me!! Ok, they may not have access to loans etc but there not doing badly!! Worse still they go to the punjab and drag the rest of there ancestry with them. Every fooker in the punjab wants to come to Britain because it's a soft touch and the benefits are paramount!!!!

[Jackirius]

Probably have to cut down on the caviar. And maybe lay off some of the west wing butlers and maids.

[Alexikokopops]

My cousin told me she didn't need to get a job and then proceeded to list all the benefits she could get as an unemployed 19 year old I have a classy family

[Jon the Hat]

But this idea of council tenants living lives of paramount luxury is a silly myth. Yes, there are those that milk it and yes there are a few with massive tellies but, for the majority, it's a myth. Most are skint with little of the luxuries others take for granted and are increasingly apathetic. Yet despite that, in my experience, they do infinitely less moaning about their hardships than most of their middle class peers.

Their benefits are only getting reduced, Ours are being taken away completely

And rightly so. There is no justifiable reason why anyone who can afford to pay their own way should have any contact with the state other than to pay their taxes. Tax credits are an expensive Labourite mechanism to make more people dependent on the state, and judging by your comments they have succeeded.

And can anyone even remember why Child Benefit was universal?

[The Doctor]

there is nothing left to cut.

The only thing i spend money on is birthdays, christmas and football, but you can't cut birthdays and christmas.

[Finnegan]

I don't fundamentally disagree. On the subject of children I do become marginally more right wing because I do think we are becoming a culture of over breeding.

[lou]

I don't fundamentally disagree. On the subject of children I do become marginally more right wing because I do think we are becoming a culture of over breeding.

True say...

I personally think if you cant afford to have kids without benefits then you shouldnt have em.

If they wanna give me child benefit though I aint gonna refuse it Just wouldnt complain if they stopped it. My kids, my responsibility.

[Dr The Singh]

True say...

I personally think if you cant afford to have kids without benefits then you shouldnt have em.

If they wanna give me child benefit though I aint gonna refuse it Just wouldnt complain if they stopped it. My kids, my responsibility.

Yeah but the child benefit money paid for the beer on match days at the swan!!!

I don't fundamentally disagree. On the subject of children I do become marginally more right wing because I do think we are becoming a culture of over breeding.

I can't help it, i'm a machine!!

[lou]

Yeah but the child benefit money paid for the beer on match days at the swan!!!

there has to be some compensation for having kids!!?

[Guest BlueBrett]

See!! There you are, What an utterly stupid argument that is. Care to explain your reasoning as to why exactly that tenant on the estate should have any more cause to complain than I do?

Being on benefits if you are capable of work should not be easy, it should not be fun, it should not enable you to live in the house you could afford when you had a job, to have a car, to have SKY TV, to be able to afford to support your smoking or drinking habits, or to buy you lots of clothes or shoes or handbags, or afford holidays. These things are not the responsibility of the state. Benefits should give you a safe clean roof over your head for as long as you absolutely need it (not for life). It should provide you with money to eat and pay the bills. It should support you in looking for work. And no more than that. The people of this country who pay their own way have had enough of funding others to have lifestyles they cannot afford themselves.

Bang on!

I saw a bloke on MIdlands news yesterday (I get West MIds for some reason) complaining about the changes to the welfare system and the news were presenting it as a valid argument against the changes in that "isn't it terrible" way that they like so much. He was a normal, somewhat scruffy, clearly fond of a tipple bloke. He had no major physical problems unless you count his below average IQ as a disability. His argument was "It's not fair, they are going to take me off the incapacity benefits and put me on the JSA. I can't live on that. It will hardly even cover my living costs" What the fook else does he think it is meant to do? The welfare system is meant to be a safety net not a bloody ticket to live the life you choose at others expense. It doesn't bother me so much that there are morons like him with a sense of entitlement. My main concern is the way that the media present these people to us in the guise of 'hard-luck stories' as if we should feel sorry for them or guilty about the fact that we complain about sponsoring their idolness, drinking and trips to the bookies.

[Dr The Singh]

there has to be some compensation for having kids!!?

The kids should be compensating me!!!

[davieG]

The kids should be compensating me!!!

In these austere times we should be getting them working at a much younger age and charging them for B & B etc all this namby pambying is not good for them